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American Brotherhood of Assassins
The American Brotherhood of Assassins, originally the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins, is the branch of the Assassin Order that operates in the United States of America and in Canada. Founded in 1746 by Achilles Davenport, the last apprentice of the West Indies Brotherhood Mentor Ah Tabai, as a guild in what was then the British colonies of continental North America, it was initially based at the Davenport Homestead in Massachusetts. Despite a productive start cultivating an alliance with New France and various indigenous peoples, the Colonial Brotherhood collapsed calamitously in the French and Indian War at the hands of the Colonial Rite of the Templar Order. Led by Grand Master Haytham Kenway, the Colonial Rite nearly eradicated the Colonial Brotherhood to the last man thanks to the defection of Shay Cormac, sparing only Achilles but leaving him a cripple. For the next decades, the Colonial Brotherhood would languish as an essentially defunct branch while the Templars consolidated their hold over the British colonies unopposed. This changed dramatically with the appearance of the young Kanien'kehá:ka Ratonhnhaké:ton at the prelude to the American Revolution. Ratonhnhaké:ton, reviving some measure of hope within Achilles, became his new apprentice, setting the stage for the revival of the guild. During the American Revolutionary War, Ratonhnhaké:ton actively supported the revolutionaries' bid for independence. Like Shay before him, his sole activities were enough to destroy the Colonial Rite, as he managed to assassinate each of the leading members of the Colonial Rite, even his father Haytham. In the meantime, his participation in the battles alongside the Continental Army was instrumental in some of their victories, but he did so under the flawed assumption that the Patriots would support the autonomy of his people in return. After the revolution, the guild was rechristened as the American Brotherhood and continued to expand alongside the United States, involving itself in key events such as the American Civil War and World War II. In the aftermath of the latter conflict, the American Brotherhood, like the greater Assassin Brotherhood, revised its millennia-old methods to conform with the emergence of a new era in international politics. For the next half century, assassinations of Templars diminished, and the covert war was waged primarily by proxy through the support of social movements and manipulation of elections. Nevertheless, lethal operations persisted sporadically, such as in the Templars' assassination of John F. Kennedy, and some Assassins insisted on living in isolation off-the-grid, as was the case with William Miles and his family in a compound called The Farm in South Dakota. In 2000, around the time that the Assassins failed to ensure a presidential victory of Al Gore over George W. Bush, the American Assassin Daniel Cross killed the Mentor in Dubai, having been engineered as a sleeper agent by the Templars. His subsequent retreat to Templars, divulging his knowledge of Assassin bases all across the world, set off the Great Purge which reduced the American Brotherhood to a fraction of its former strength. Despite this, critical successes followed when a cell consisting of Shaun Hastings, Rebecca Crane, William Miles, and William's son Desmond, foiled the Templars Eye-Abstergo plot to dominate the world and saved Earth from the Second Disaster on 21 December 2012 by unlocking the secrets of the Isu from the Grand Temple in Turin, New York. History Establishment : "I have sent similar letters of friendship across the known world. For I believe that we are growing ever more connected, day by day. If my Brotherhood is to succeed, we will need allies from all empires, of all genders, of all races, who believe in the same thing: The Creed." : ―excerpt from Achilles Davenport's invitation letter, 1746. Ah Tabai, the Mentor of the Caribbean Assassins, was known to have had several contacts with Assassins in the British colonies. Around 1740, Ah Tabai sent Achilles Davenport, the last of his apprentices, to establish a guild in the British colonies of continental North America. There, Achilles met John de la Tour, an Acadian Assassin operating on behalf of the Parisian Brotherhood's Assassin Council. De la Tour was attempting to build a network of information which would help identify threats against the colonies, and he theorized that the New World would contain various Precursor sites and artifacts. During the Battle of Louisbourg in 1745, de la Tour sacrificed himself to save Achilles from the attack British troops. Before leaving Achilles and his lover Abigail behind, de la Tour named him Mentor and entrusted him with the establishment of the Colonial Brotherhood. The following year, Achilles honored de la Tour's last command and officially founded the Colonial Brotherhood. Under his direction, the Davenport Homestead was built, serving as the headquarters of the Brotherhood. In less than a year, he was able to gain allies among the English and French colonists as well as the indigenous peoples. To facilitate the expansion of his guild, he sent offer letters to Assassin allies and guilds across the globe. During this period, the Colonial Brotherhood maintained regular correspondence with other guilds, including the British, Caribbean, French, Spanish, and Saint-Dominigue Brotherhoods. Additionally, they had allies in Stockholm. With the help of Liam O'Brien, Achilles' protégé who had already become his first disciple in 1743 prior to the guild's founding, Achilles managed to induct several prominent members into the Brotherhood. Among the first was Louis-Joseph Gaultier, Chevalier de la Vérendrye, a French naval commander who had strong connections with the French Army. Through de la Vérendrye, the Assassins gained allies among smugglers as well as pirates. Le Chasseur, an informative spy, became acquainted with the Brotherhood at this point, lending his aid in their efforts. Another recruit was Kesegowaase, a Wolastoqiyik mercenary whose influence allowed the Assassins the support of several warriors, hunters and scouts, further strengthening their forces. Hope Jensen was recruited in 1747 and tasked with creating a network of organized crime in New York, with her gangs soon spread out across the city. By 1748, Shay Cormac, a former sailor and childhood friend of Liam, was inducted for his knowledge of seamanship, and in time became renowned as the second best sailor in the Colonial Brotherhood. Later that year, Achilles extended an invitation to join the Order to Maria van Antwerpen, however, she declined due to her commitment to serving the Dutch Army. The Colonial Brotherhood was aided by the French Council, who by 1749, had constructed a ship named the Aquila ''which was primarily meant to serve as the Assassins' naval fleet. Around 1750, Achilles served as captain of the ''Aquila, ''during which he subsequently rescued Robert Faulkner, a veteran sailor; grateful for his help, Faulkner offered his services in creating a shipping route which would connect the Colonial Brotherhood with the European branches of the Order, with the aid of de la Vérendrye. In 1751, Faulkner began investigating two shipping companies the Levesque and L'Isle families, suspecting that they were affiliated with the Templar Order. By 1753, Faulkner was appointed quartermaster of the ''Aquila. ''Around this point, the Assassins expanded their forces out to the open sea, with several of their Order captaining ships in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1751, Miko, a member of the British branch of the Order, wrote a letter to Achilles, in which he stated his approval of the Colonial Brotherhood, while simultaneously giving Achilles a warning of the threat the British Rite of the Templar Order posed to the American colonies. Achilles also received a letter from Rhona Dinsmore, detailing that she had been seduced by Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer. Rafael managed to steal several Yucatán Peninsula maps which held the location of the Chichen Itza Temples. Rhona requested that Achilles eliminate Rafael if he was given the opportunity. Precursor search Tracking the artifacts The same year, François Mackandal, Mentor of the Haitian Brotherhood, came into possession of two First Civilization artifacts, the Precursor box and manuscript. With both artifacts in hand, the Assassins were able to pinpoint the locations of several First Civilization temples, including one in Port-au-Prince. Vendredi, one of Mackandal's pupils, was sent to investigate the site, but indirectly triggered a defense system, which caused a massive earthquake to occur. Vendredi himself was caught under falling debris while attempting to escape the temple, and approached by the Master Templar, Lawrence Washington, who took possession of the artifacts and slit Vendredi's throat. With both artifacts in the Templars' possession, the Assassins worked to reclaim them. In 1752, Achilles assigned his Assassins to locate them. In the same year, Shay and Liam had been assigned a mission to aid de la Vérendrye and his men. However, the group was ambushed by British soldiers, with some smugglers being taken has hostages. While de la Vérendrye tended to his troops, Liam and Shay infiltrated the enemy camp, saving the hostages. With the threat dealt with, the Assassins gained a ship called the ''Morrigan, ''which Shay commandeered as his personal vessel, strengthening the Assassins' naval capabilities. In March 1752, Achilles assigned Shay to locate the artifacts stolen by the Templars. As Shay, Liam, and de la Vérendrye met with Le Chasseur, they've learned Lawrence Washington was supposedly in possession of them. The Assassins traveled to Mount Vernon to intercept a package meant for Washington, which contained a prototype air rifle, rather than First Civilization artifacts. Shay claimed the weapon and subsequently infiltrated Washington's manor, just as the Precursor box and Voynich manuscript were entrusted to the Templars Samuel Smith and James Wardrop. Following the meeting, Shay assassinated Washington and escaped. In 1754, the Assassins hired a group of mercenaries to steal a chest owned by the Templar William Johnson, containing his research on the First Civilization sites in the region. A group of Templars led by the newly arrived Haytham Kenway attacked the fort where the research was being held and recovered it. Before departing, Haytham warned a surviving mercenary to inform his masters their time was over. Disaster in Lisbon By May of that year, the Assassins located Samuel Smith after his return from Europe, tracking him down and pursuing his ship, the ''Equitas, to the island of Terra Nova. Heading ashore, Shay managed to assassinate Smith and reclaim the Precursor box. Two months later, James Wardrop had been located in Albany during the Congress taking place there, and was assassinated in Fort Frederick. Following his death, the Assassins recovered the manuscript, and enlisted the help of Benjamin Franklin in order to figure out how to operate the Precursor box. After recovering Franklin's confiscated tools, Shay and Hope helped him to conduct an experiment, which powered the Precursor box and caused it to project a holographic display of the globe with several First Civilization temples marked on it, including one in Lisbon, Portugal. The following year, Achilles lost his wife Abigail and son Connor to typhoid fever, weakening his resolve. Later, the Assassins devised their next move at Two Bends; Achilles tasked Shay with traveling to Lisbon to retrieve the Piece of Eden located within the temple. With Liam occupied, Shay reached Lisbon in November. Upon arriving, he entered the Carmo Convent and successfully activated the mechanisms to open a hidden vault beneath the structure, locating the Piece of Eden. Upon touching the artifact, Shay indirectly triggered a massive earthquake. He narrowly managed to escape with his own life, but the earthquake took the lives of thousands of innocents. Shay's betrayal